1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to package assemblies and in particular to a package assembly suitable for shipping as well as product display, which features open portions in its front and rear.
2. Description of the Related Art
Devices for packing and shipping products and/or containers of products are known. Such devices are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles. Often a package assembly is designed to contain a number of different containers, such as several containers of a product, in a single package assembly for delivery from one location to another, such as from a manufacturer to a wholesaler or retail seller. Sometimes the shipping package assembly is also used to display the product once the assembly is opened at the retail seller.
In many cases, the package assembly used to ship containers of product from the manufacturer to the retailer is of such type that the containers need to be removed from the assembly prior to displaying the containers in the retail environment. Removing the containers from the package assembly is often time and labor intensive. Therefore package assemblies are often used that are suitable both for shipping as wells as retail display.
There has been a trend toward decreasing the size of the display package assembly, due in part to the expense of shelf space in the retail environment. The need for smaller display assemblies is growing as more and more products compete for limited shelf space.
The trend toward smaller display package assemblies is also driven by the need to reduce production costs, reduce waste, and reduce our consumption of natural resources. In our global economy, reducing production costs is critical for maintaining competitiveness. Any design change that results in savings is critical. And, retailers are concerned with reducing waste after they receive shipments—there is a large cost associated with managing and disposing of waste after the containers have been removed from the package assemblies. Finally, creating or even recycling paper board and corrugated fiberboard, two staples in creating package assemblies, along with a number of other materials used in creating package assemblies, consume enormous amounts of natural resources. Whether it is the clear-cutting of forests, use of massive amounts of water, or consumption of large amounts of fuel in their production, there is no doubt package assemblies have a large environmental impact.
As such, there is a need for a cost effective low-bulk package assembly that is capable of shipping a plurality of containers and then transitioning to retail display.
The art referred to and/or described above is not intended to constitute an admission that any patent, publication or other information referred to herein is “prior art” with respect to this invention. In addition, this section should not be construed to mean that a search has been made or that no other pertinent information as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.56(a) exists.
All U.S. patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention, a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. § 1.72.